HOT SCALE (1-10): 10
For those of you who know me, you may think I’m partial to this story because Wade Belak use to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and you wouldn’t be entirely wrong in assuming so. Sadly, Belak was found dead in a Toronto hotel yesterday. He is now the third NHL enforcer/tough guy to have died since May along with Winnipeg Jets’ Rick Rypien and former New York Rangers Derek Boogard.
“We’re talking about such a short period of time,” Craig Button, who was the general manager of the Flames when Belak played there early in his career, told The Canadian Press. “It’s not only about the deaths, it’s the deaths that surround similar type players. … It’s not just getting hit in the head, it’s everything that goes with that (enforcer) role. I think that people are paying very, very serious attention to concussions and blows to the head and the role of the enforcer.
“I don’t think anybody can stop until we really understand the impact it has not only physically but emotionally as well,” Button said.
Read the full ESPN article here.
Both the NHL and NFL have changed their rules regarding hits to the head much to the dismay of “purists” of their respective sport, but there is an undeniable correlation between hits to the head and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Sideny Crosby, arguably the best player in the league, is still recovering after what appeared to be multiple concussions suffered days apart in January. Crosby’s return is still unclear (as well as if he will be the same player he once was), but one thing is certain; the NHL is taking these deaths seriously, and maybe it’s time we as fans do the same.
We may soon find ourselves with a generation of athletes we adored suffering from brain injuries, or worse, dead.
Thank you to Frederick Breedon/AP for the Wade Belak Image
Are you saying that you think that even though Rypien and Boogard didn’t die directly from the “hits” that brain trauma might have led to the issues they had?
Thanks for your comment…
I’m saying there’s a trend here that needs to be closely looked at.
I think at first glance it’s easy to dismiss their deaths as mere coincidences, but t’s naive to rule out the possibility that CTE may have been responsible for their issues. I don’t know them personally, their complete history, or any demons they may have been fighting, but there is a trend that the league should look into (and I’m sure they are). The NHL-NHLPA has great support programs for their players, but we need to be proactive, as oppose to reactive once the damage has already been done. How do we do this? Should we stop fighting in hockey? These are tough questions, but surely we can all agree that more research needs to be done.
Interesting read here about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Suicides and Parasuicides in Professional American Athletes
http://journals.lww.com/amjforensicmedicine/Abstract/2010/06000/Chronic_Traumatic_Encephalopathy,_Suicides_and.7.aspx
I know that CTE had been mentioned in the hockey world a few times even before this unfortunate time for the sport. Hard to say if this is exactly the same as what the NFL dealt with (Mike Webster, Dave Duerson, etc); yet it wouldn’t be a shock.
With that said, some guys get more trauma than others; in these cases, these were enforcers whose purpose was to protect their star teammates and fight. With the frequency of their play, those blows to the head are more compounded than, say, a boxer or mixed martial artist.
It’s just sad all around.
I just find it funny that fighting is still “legal” in the sport. In basketball if you foul a player too hard you get kicked out. In football , the sport where contact is the most accepted, if you hit too hard now you could be suspended & fined huge amounts. Why is fighting or having an “enforcer” on the squad even a part of the sport. Well here’s the answer. It’s what we want to see. The contact, the violence, the mayhem, it’s all for our “entertainment”. When the gloves drop on the ice or when that receiver gets laid out coming across the middle you don’t turn the channel. The sportscenter highlights are full of these events. The rise of MMA is a direct result of our fixation with sports & violence. And they’re for our entertainment. We become affected(or concerned) after the fact. After a player dies as a result of our guilty pleasures we wanna ask questions. Well then the question becomes , When does the audience have an effect on how the game is played & when do we become responsible for these players ( who some call our heroes) when they meet such tragic fates?